League of Women Voters of California
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2003 Election
	Bill Cooper Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Los Altos School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Altos/Mtn. View Area and asked of all candidates for this office.

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What do you see are the challenges facing the school district for the next four years?

In the short term, the board will face the challenges of determining how to best utilize the Bullis School site. It will also need to select the best location to house the new charter school. These are two very emotional issues and there are no easy answers to these interrelated challenges. The Bullis site should provide as much revenue to the district as possible. The infrastructure of the Bullis site must be maintained for potential future use by the district.

Due to the volatility of state funding of education, the board will need to closely monitor its revenue sources and be prepared for unanticipated dips.

The most important challenge will be to support the quality of instruction (teachers) and curriculum that makes this district so special. This should be the guiding vision that determines every decision made by the board.

2. If a charter school is approved, what do you see as the issues and benefits for the district?

Economically, the degree of impact is yet to be determined. It is certain that the school district will be impacted in terms of lost revenue and lower enrollment. Due to enrollment shifts, there is the potential for boundary changes.

On the plus side, a charter school "competing" for students with the Los Altos School District will further motivate the district to strive to continue to offer the very best education possible to its students. In this regard, competition is not necessarily bad.

3. How should the Bullis School site be best utilized?

The Bullis site should be rented to the tenant(s) that provides the maximum revenue. There should be a one-year termination clause built in to any rental agreement (as was the case with Covington lease). The site should be rented with an eye toward potentially reopening Bullis as a seventh elementary school if and when circumstances allow. The grounds should be made available to the Los Altos Hills community for recreational use.